


Holding Hands

by SpongeGuy



Series: The Milo Murphy's Law Wiki Guy AU [26]
Category: Milo Murphy's Law
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-10-03
Updated: 2019-10-03
Packaged: 2020-11-22 13:17:23
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 9,022
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20874839
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SpongeGuy/pseuds/SpongeGuy
Summary: Milo and Melissa make some important breakthroughs with their "crushes"...





	Holding Hands

Night had fallen in the city of Danville, and Milo and Melissa, after another fun day, were about to go their separate ways.

Milo, ever cheerful, was gushing over the movie they had just seen.

“And when he heard his father say “No. You’re stronger” and the music went AAAHHHH… AHHHHHH! AHHHHH…. AHHHH!!!!! Wowee! It was so cool!”, Milo described in excited passion, the brightness of his smile only matched by the wonder in his eyes and the hope in his heart.

Melissa giggled. Milo’s passion for life, coupled with his adorkableness was one of her favorite things about him. 

“Yeah, Milo, it was pretty cool. For a movie you chose.”, she joked, elbowing him slightly.

“I always make great movie choices!”, Milo defended himself with a smile.

“One word Milo: “Fan4stic”.”, Melissa ribbed, smiling at her best friend.

Milo pretended to pout.

“But… It was “fantastic”…”

Milo couldn’t help himself and burst out laughing, which made Melissa laugh too.

The two teens laughed out loud for a while, and then calmed down, wiping off tears from their eyes.

“I’ll admit, that one was bad. But, you know, Murphy’s Law.”, Milo admitted.

“It wasn’t all bad.”, Melissa said, catching her breath.

“Really?”, Milo asked, surprised.

“No.”, Melissa deadpanned.

She then turned to him.

“But you were there, and you make everything better, so there’s that.”

She smiled warmly at him.

Milo smiled back.

“Thanks, Melissa.”

“Anytime, Milo.”

The two were nearing the crossroad, leading to them parting for the night.

Melissa looked to the left, where her street was, and Milo looked to the right, where his street was.

All the lights immediately shut off, but one that acted almost like a spotlight on them.

The two knowingly smiled at each other, very much used to this occurrence.

“Well, see ya tomorrow, Milo!”

“See ya, Melissa!”

But they still stood in front of each other, a little closer than they had intended.

An odd…

Awkwardness was about.

An unfamiliar, yet familiar tension plagued their minds.

A loud silence echoed in their ears.

Milo, despite his best efforts, found himself thinking a familiar thought: “Wowee, she’s so… Pretty in the moonlight…”

Her eyes sparkled, their love as ever helping keep the flame of hope in his heart alive.

What would he do without her?

Melissa was experiencing something very similar and familiar too…

“God, does he ever not look great?”

His smile, the one that had reassured her countless times that they would get out of this or that mess, was mesmerizing. It made her feel safe, something even her Dad couldn’t do, not for lack of trying.

The two shuffled their feet, unsure of what to do.

These silences were happening more and more often.

Milo smiled again, shyly now.

“Oh man, that smile.”, Melissa thought, her heart beating rapidly.

“What would I do to kis…”

Melissa stopped herself.

“No! No! We talked about this: Milo and I are friends, and it doesn’t matter what happens.”

“Really?”, her mind answered. “Because you clearly like him like that.”

“No, I don’t! Maybe! Ugh! This is crazy talk!”, Melissa shot back at her mind.

“Says the girl arguing with her self-conscious on whether she loves her best friend or not. Which you totally do, by the way.”

Melissa sighed.

She didn’t know what to do.

Milo, meanwhile, was also struggling.

“Do I like her like that? Yes? No? Maybe? It’s not like that! Is it? Ugh. What am I going to do?”, he thought, helpless against his intense feelings.

The two looked at each other intently.

For a second, as they gazed at each other and smiled, they felt that maybe, just maybe they could come clean.

But that passed.

Fear and shyness overtook them once again, and they simply bid farewell, walking their separate ways.

As Melissa retraced the usual steps to her house, she retraced the usual steps of the argument in her head that happened every time she was with Milo (which was all the time).

So yeah, she was getting REALLY sick of this argument.

“You saw the way you looked at him… You even thought ‘Does he ever not look great?’”

Melissa rolled her eyes.

“I’m not going over this again.”

“Yet, here you are, going over this again…”

“Quiet you! Listen, I don’t like him like that…”

“A total lie, considering what you’ve been thinking since the “Missing Milo” incident. And before that.”

“He doesn’t like me like that…”

“A fact you don’t know for sure.”

“And I don’t want to ruin our friendship by taking that next step!”

“And how do you like never addressing what you’re feeling? Are you seriously just going to bottle this up forever?”

That stopped Melissa.

Her annoying, argumentative sub-conscious had a point of sorts: Whether or not she felt for him anything, she was clearly feeling SOMETHING. And while telling Milo was NOT something she wanted, not telling him didn’t feel inviting either.

But Melissa was stubborn. She wasn’t going to hurt their friendship, and thus hurt Milo by telling him something she herself wasn’t sure was true.

“We’ve established a long time ago that whatever happens, we’ll be together. That’s all that matters.”, Melissa said, and the argument stopped.

Then…

How come she felt bad?

She arrived at her house, the door creaking quite loudly as she opened it.

“Oh, boy. Here we go again.”, Melissa thought, as she remembered that she was in for the usual grilling from her dad.

She looked around the room and…

Huh.

He wasn’t there.

“Guess he finally gave up.”, Melissa thought.

Her mind went back to Milo.

“Milo...”, she thought, just the mental image of him making her smile softly.

She grabbed her phone from her pocket and opened her photo gallery, scanning it until her eyes landed on the picture.

She enlarged the image and smiled fondly at it.

It was the image she had taken of Milo so long ago, right after he had rooted for the enemy.

There was something about it, about his smile, about his utter optimism in the face of a broken thumb, but she wasn’t sure what…

Oh, who was she kidding?

She loved everything about him.

She loved how he happy he was.

How optimistic he was.

How helpful he was.

She loved his soft face, his joyful eyes, his beautiful smile, his odd nose, his unique hair…

She sighed lovingly and caressed the image with her thumb, trying to somehow make his broken thumb go away with her healthy one.

She closed her eyes and sighed again.

“Oh, Milo…”

Her cheeks burned from the blush that was spreading on them as she imagined holding his hand and transmitting love to him through that.

“My Milo…”

Her heart beat loudly as she imagined dancing with him, but unlike the last few school dances, they would dance closely, slowly, like they were the only ones in the world. How she wanted to make him feel her silk embrace through the satin air. How she wanted him to be happy.

“If only…”

Her heart fluttered and raced, her mind went into overdrive and a sad smile came onto her face as she thought of how much she wanted to kiss him, how she wanted to telegraph all her feelings through one kiss, a kiss that would mean the world to him.

How she wanted to make his life even more exceptional!

She sighed once again, her whole self unsure of what to do.

“If only I could tell you…”

“Tell him what?”, Richard Chase said, coming into the room after hearing all that.

Melissa screamed and jumped into the air, her head getting stuck in the ceiling.

“…Oops. Sorry, honey.”. Richard said, sheepishly.

He put away the dark clothing he had put on to blend in.

“Dad?! Seriously?!”, Melissa complained, her voice muffled from the ceiling she was stuck in.

“…I’ll get a ladder.”

Meanwhile, Milo was also facing confused feelings.

He didn’t know why.

Why did Melissa sometimes look so pretty?

Why did she sometimes make his heart race and his face hot?

How could the simplest smile, the simplest look, the simplest laugh make his heart melt?

“No!”, he thought, trying to block the insane notion.

“I don’t like her like that!”

“…Right?”

Because…

What if he did?

Milo was less aware than Melissa.

As a matter of fact, it was only very recently that he had been getting these thoughts.

True, he had felt a little odd when they had almost kissed in the summer, and when she had applied face paint on him before the Gecko’s game, and after he fought King Pistachion.

That night he had found himself looking at his picture of Melissa for a whole hour. Sara had to shake him awake to eat dinner.

And then she had this weird look for the whole time, like she knew something he didn’t.

Big sisters were weird.

Wait, scratch that.

Sara was weird.

And if Sara was weird, that meant that he doesn’t love Melissa right? That means he doesn’t want to run his fingers though her wonderful hair! He doesn’t want to hold her tight and never let go! That means he doesn’t want to hold her hand, dance with her just the two of them and then kiss her and make her feel all what he’s been feeling, make her feel all his love so she could never be sad again, cause how could someone like Melissa Chase ever feel sad when she’s the greatest person ever?

“Yep.”, Milo thought as he walked in.

“I definitely don’t feel anything for her!”

Milo heard a laugh track, but decided not to give it any attention.

Finally, after what seemed like a long time, maybe because the author was too busy making up odd romantic feelings for him rather than, oh, I don’t know, moving the story along, Milo reached his house.

Wait, was it the right house? It was dark…

The door then fell down.

“MARTIN! The spaghetti is alive!”, Brigette screamed as she fended the sinister cuisine with a blowtorch.

“I swear it wasn’t me! Perry the Platypus and I were just downstairs with our DnD Group!”, Doof, dressed as a gnome, shouted from downstairs.

Perry, dressed as a knight, chattered.

“Yes, I agree. You don’t look the DnD type guy, but I guess you shouldn’t judge a fedora wearing platypus by his teal cover… Or something like that. Metaphors are weird, man!”

“Mom! Dad! Do you need help with the monster spaghetti?”, Sara, dressed as a wise wizard with an afro, also shouted from downstairs.

“No, Sara, but check if Milo is at the door! It fell down, which means… Nothing, since I have Murphy’s Law too. But still, check!”, Martin shouted back.

“Yep.”, Milo thought with a smile. “I’m home.”

Sara went to the open doorway.

“Hey, little brother! How was your “date”?”, Sara asked, smiling knowingly.

Milo denied fervently.

“Sara! It wasn’t a date! Will you stop saying that every time Melissa and I go out somewhere?”

“Which is practically every night.”

“We also go with Zack!”, Milo defended himself.

“Yeah, but you also go out together. Alone. With ROMANCE in the air!”, Sara teased and laughed.

Milo pouted.

Sara hugged him.

“I’m just messing with you, little brother. I know it’s not like that… Completely.”

Milo sighed.

“It’s not like that, period.”

Sara started to leave.

Milo sighed, and, thinking no one was looking, took out the picture of Melissa he has in his backpack.

It had been taken by Milo during a trip to the park. The sun was shining, the birds were singing. Not a single thing was wrong with the picture. But it wasn’t the sun, the birds, or even the sky that caught Milo’s eye. It was the girl in the middle. The amazing, incredible, wonderful girl in the middle. His greatest friend. His favorite person.

Milo’s heart fluttered as he looked at Melissa in the image. Her smile, so simple yet infectious. Her curly hair, so soft and bold, just like her. Her eyes, as soothing and loving as the sea in a calm summers day.

He blushed softly, he smiled warmly and his heart beat rapidly as all his thoughts, all his odd desires to hold her hand, to dance with her, to kiss her resurfaced and a flood of love washed over him.

He sighed, a small, sad smile on his face.

“Oh, Melissa. My exceptional Melissa… If only… If only I could understand how I feel…”

Sara, who had come back upstairs to get some almond brittle for the DnD group, overheard this and, squeeing in delight, grabbed Milo and ran up to her room.

“Milo, it’s high time you and I talked about your feelings for Melissa.”

She pitched her blanket as a tent, and they stayed underneath it.

Milo sighed.

This was going to be a LOOOOOOOONG conversation.

Sitting at the dinner table with little bits of ceiling and dust still attached to her hair, face and clothes, Melissa was… Not pleased, to say the least.

She stared at her father, annoyed at his behavior while he handed her a plate of spaghetti he had made.

You could tell it was made by Richard since the ends were slightly charred, it tasted a little dry, and the pot was on fire.

Melissa did note that he was getting better.

At least he didn’t have to fetch the water hose anymore.

Well, almost.

Richard finished taking out the fire and sat down, staring directly into her face.

She stared back at him.

Their eyes were locked on each other, neither one refusing to budge or to back down.

Richard suddenly, without looking, took a plate of dates and put them on the table.

Melissa sighed internally.

She knew exactly where this was going.

“Melissa…”, Richard started, a serious tone in his voice.

“Yes, dad?”, Melissa asked, annoyed at the whole procedure. She folded her arms, ready for another “fun filled” talk about “romance”.

“Do you know what this plate of dates reminds me of?”, Richard asked, his hands resting on top of each other on the table, his left sleeve smudged with a bit of spaghetti sauce.

Melissa rolled her eyes.

“Gee, dad. I wonder what it could POSSIBLY remind you of? Maybe, oh, I don’t know, dating? Romantic dating? With a boy?”, Melissa answered sarcastically.

“No.”, Richard answered simply, surprising Melissa, who blinked in confusion.

“Huh. Is it possible he isn’t going to grill me…”

“It reminds me of fruits. And fruits remind me of strawberries. And strawberries remind me of gardens. And gardens remind me of thorns. Thorns remind me of boo boos. Boo boos remind me of band aids. Band aids remind me of you being careless. You being careless led you to getting the sniffles once when you were 7. 7 is the number of espresso machines Ricardo has been engaged to. Ricardo is this guy I pass on the street when I go to the pharmacy. Near the pharmacy is a tree. The tree which you and Milo once climbed on. Climbing is something primates do. And Primates eat insects. Insects are the main characters of “A Bugs Life.” “A Bugs Life” features Julia Louise Dreifuss. She was in “Seinfeld”, which stars Jerry Seinfeld. Jerry Seinfeld made “Bee Movie”, and in that, Spoiler Alert, his best friend goes to hospital at one point. Hospitals remind me of pharmacies again. The one I go to when you are sick. And you who know else gets sick? Milo. And Milo is a boy. And you are a girl. And you went out with him on yet another date! THAT’S WHAT DATES REMIND ME OF!”

Melissa took this all in.

“…That was a really roundabout way to get to “You’re too young to date, Melissa”, don’t you think?”, she asked dryly.

Richard waved her off.

“It doesn’t matter how I got there.”

“Because if we analyze this, you’ll have to face the fact that you’ve been distracted recently?”

Richard got nervous.

“I…I’m not distracted.”

He moved on.

“Anyway, that doesn’t matter! What matters is that you were going out with a boy!”, he accused, once again letting his overprotectiveness take over him.

Melissa rolled her eyes.

“Yes, well, you are technically right.”, she smirked. “I did “go out” with a “boy”, but Milo and I are not a couple, and you know that. There was no romantic connotation.”

“I challenge that! The connotation was clearly romantic and I do not appreciate the false insinuation!”, Richard shot back.

“Well, forsooth that…”, she stopped, confused. “Wait, why are we talking like this?”

Richard shrugged.

“I thought it was kind of fun.”

Melissa grumbled, frustrated from all the annoying conversations she was having.

“Ugh, whatever! Look, I don’t like him like that. End of story.”

Richard wasn’t buying it.

“Melissa, I know when you’re lying to me.”

Melissa scoffed.

“Geez, Dad! Don’t you ever get tired of this? Every time I come back from hanging out with my best friend, you get all “You two are secretly dating!” No, we’re not!”

Melissa was really getting ticked off.

“Why don’t you focus on your dating life?”

Richard rubbed his neck.

“I am… Sort of.”

He sighed.

“Look, it’s not about Milo. I know he’s a good kid. I learned that lesson. I’d be concerned if it was any boy.”

Melissa stood up from her chair, her spaghetti still untouched.

“Dad, I’m 14. Almost 15. I’m too old for this dumb cliché!”, she complained.

“Dating is complicated, sweetie. I just don’t want you to get hurt.”, he said, concerned.

“I know!”, Melissa said, exasperated. “But would dating Milo be so bad?”

She immediately backtracked.

“Not that I want to!”

She tried to hide her blush.

Geez, if only she could make up her mind!

Richard pressed on.

“If it wasn’t a date, then tell me how today went.”

At first, Melissa was going to reject the idea.

But a realization came upon her.

“This could actually help me! I can analyze what happened to figure out if I want to date Milo or not! Which I do. Wait, no, I… Stop. I’ll figure it out now, ok? Then I won’t have any more of these stupid conversations.”, she thought.

She smiled to herself.

“Besides, I can also mess with Dad and pretend it was all cheesy and stuff. His reaction will be priceless!”

She sat back down.

“Fine, Dad. I’ll tell you how it went.”

Richard smiled.

“Ha! Now, we’re getting somewhere!”

A silent few seconds passed.

Richard coughed for her attention, but Melissa seemed… Distant.

“Melissa? Are… You going to tell me what happened?”

Melissa shook awake.

“Oh, sorry. It’s just I have the weirdest feeling that Milo is about to tell the story too, and the author wants me to wait until we both start so it will synch up.”

Richard nodded, understanding now.

“Got it.”

Back at Sara’s room, Milo was going through a similarly annoying conversation.

“So… How long have you been pining for Melissa?”

Milo panicked.

“Sara! Again, I don’t like her…”

Sara interrupted, giddy from excitement.

“Wait! Don’t tell me! Let me guess, let me guess! H’mm…”

She rested her chin on her hand.

Suddenly, an idea came to her!

“A ha! When you first met!”

“No”, Milo answered blankly.

“When you took your first picture!”

“No”, Milo said again.

“When you saw that Dr. Zone episode where Time Ape dates his best friend!”, Sara suggested.

Milo was confused.

“When did we do that?”

Sara realized her mistake.

“Whoops! My bad.”, she said sheepishly. “That was Wally with Kris.”

“Ah.”, Milo said.

Sara then immediately went back to her investigation, wearing a deerstalker hat and using a magnifying glass.

“The robots in the shark cage?”

“No”

“The lumber yard?”

“No”

“The Llama Incident?”

“No”

“Today!”

“No!”, Milo suddenly shouted, startling Sara.

He took a breath and calmed down.

“Sara, I’m telling you, I don’t like her like that.”

“Then why were you staring at that picture?”

Milo stammered.

“I just… Did.”

Sara raised an eyebrow.

Milo smiled nervously.

“People gaze longingly at photos of platonic friends, right?”, Milo said, hoping his sorry excuse will save him.

Sara smiled knowingly.

“Milo, I once caught you sighing lovingly at that photo.”

“Who said the sigh was loving? Maybe it was… Confused? Maybe the sigh gets confused about his feelings sometimes? Maybe sometimes he doesn’t understand why… She looks so pretty, sometimes. And why she makes me feel so happy… And why sometimes I’d like to Kiss…”

Milo, who was smiling shyly at all this, suddenly realized what he was saying and began denying it all.

“But it’s not like that!”

Sara laughed.

“Oh, Milo! You are so confused! Thankfully, you have a sister who’s ready to help! After all, you’re talking to “Dr. Love”!”, Sara said, closing her eyes and pointing at herself with her thumbs.

Suddenly, Doof lifted the blanket from her head.

“Hey, uh, sorry to interrupt, but you forgot the Almond Brittle. Also, Neal’s calling you. I thought that you might want to answer him, and I didn’t want to embarrass you by answering myself, so…”

Sara screamed in fright and swallowed the phone whole.

Milo and Doof stared at her in shock.

“Woah!”, Doof exclaimed.

“Yeah, what was that about?”, Milo asked, surprised.

“Dr. Love” hasn’t earned her diploma yet, ok?!”, Sara replied, embarrassed by her behavior.

After giving Doof the Almond Brittle, Sara returned to Milo and their blanket tent.

“Ok, so, tell me all about your feelings.”

Milo tried to get out.

“Sara, I don’t want to.”

He got out of the bed and found a psychiatrists couch.

Sara sat on a chair next to it, wearing a fake beard, glasses and suit (Is the suit fake? Discuss in the comments).

She patted the seat.

“The session is about to begin, Mr. Murphy.”

Milo turned away.

“Sara, come on! I don’t want to!”

He pouted and folded his arms.

Milo was never really like this, Sara noted.

Maybe she should leave him alone.

“Sorry, little brother. I didn’t realize I was bothering you. I’ll go now.”, she said, hoping she didn’t hurt her precious baby brother.

As she began to leave, Milo reconsidered.

He was feeling… Confused.

On the one hand, he was sure he didn’t like Melissa like that.

But on the other hand…

He thought of how pretty she was in the moonlight.

About how much he wanted to show his love.

His heart swelled just from the mere mention of her name.

He looked at the picture and blushed.

Would it be so bad?

He sighed.

Maybe he should try to figure this out.

He caught Sara as she was walking downstairs.

“Sara!”, he called.

Sara turned.

“Yes?”, she asked, surprised to see Milo calling for her.

Milo shuffled at his feet.

“Maybe… Maybe you’re right. Maybe… Maybe there is something…”

He blushed as he thought of the object of his affections.

“I can’t deny that… She’s amazing. I don’t know if it’s like that… But I guess I could try to find out.”

Sara smiled.

“Sure, little brother.”

They walked back to her room and got under the blanket tent.

Milo fiddled his thumbs.

“Sara…”

Sara ruffled his hair.

“Yes?”

Milo smiled shyly.

“You… You promise you won’t laugh? Or make me feel embarrassed?”

Sara laughed.

“Of course not! I’ve just… I’ve been waiting for this for so long! I was sure Amanda was the one at first, but I’ll admit that secretly, I always thought you and Melissa might have something.”

Milo blushed.

“I don’t know if it’s something…”

He smiled softly.

“Though I’ll admit… She is…”

He thought back to all the times they had shared.

“I guess it’s really something I’ve always felt. Some days I don’t feel it, and some days I try to ignore it, but when she hangs out with me, when she jokes with me, when she laughs with me, when she holds me and tells me it’s going to be ok, when she smiles…”

His heart fluttered.

“She’s just so…”

He almost whispered the last word, genuine about his feelings for the first time.

“…Beautiful…”

He laid back on Sara, who stroked his soft face.

“Tell me about today. What made today so different that you’re actually trying to understand these feelings?”, Sara asked softly.

Milo sighed as he snuggled up to Sara, who stroked his hair.

“…Well…”

Ok, a small Author’s note: The following scene is being narrated by Milo and Melissa (at the same time, with different lines), and at times being interrupted by Sara and Richard Chase (again, with different lines).

Whenever I use Story Milo and Story Melissa, that means that I’m referring to the Milo and Melissa in the story we’re being told, and whenever I say Narrator Milo and Narrator Melissa, I’m talking about our Milo and Melissa, who are telling the story.

Got it?

Great!

A street outside Jefferson County Middle School is shown, and Story Milo is waiting outside the school, watching his Murphy’s Law cause a circus to stop next to their school and preform.

“So, I was waiting outside for Melissa, watching a circus that stopped, and thinking about the movie we were going to see”, said Narrator Milo.

Sara was eating a bowl of popcorn, already engrossed in the story.

“Because of Murphy’s Law, I had glued the tickets to my bellybutton, and I had taken the precaution of wearing a bullet proof vest just in case something went wrong.”, Narrator Milo said.

Story Milo showed the ticket stubs and the vest.

Narrator Melissa, meanwhile, had filled Richard on the same details.

“Did anything go wrong?”, Richard asked, eating a date before spitting it out, remembering he doesn’t like dates.

The dates shed some tears. When would Richard-Senpai notice them?

Narrator Melissa shook her head.

“No. It was a light Murphy’s Law day, all in all.”

Story Milo then sees a tree fall down, causing an electrical grid to crash on Principal Milder’s car, which sent the steering wheel flying into Joni’s face, who was carrying a steaming bowl of soup and a collection of steak knives. The soup and steak knives fly into Marcus Underwood’s television, causing it to somehow gain sentience. The television, vowing vengeance on the cruel world it resided in, took the steak knives and threatened Jim, who had to arrest it. Well, he would have, if it wasn’t for Brent, his rival officer. In prison, the television shared a cell with Sergio McGuiness, and they got into a brawl. The brawl caused a temporary black out that turned off the computer that Kris was using, removing her recent edits on the Dr. Zone wiki. Her primal scream of rage was heard over in Italy, and it dropped a bowl of Mama’s cannoli on Serena, a wife of a mobster. 

“Quiet day.”, Narrator Milo said.

Narrator Melissa smiled.

“It was really thoughtful of Milo to protect the tickets like that. He’s so thoughtful about everything.”, she said, a dreamy look on her face as she thought of Milo.

Richard noticed the dreamy look on her face.

“I see…”, he said cockily.

Narrator Melissa quickly straightened herself.

“Yeah, well, it’s not like that means anything.”, she said, a small blush on her face.

“Moving on…”, she continued. “I saw that he was distracted, so I decided to surprise him…”

“I was so busy watching the circus that I didn’t notice Melissa, and she…”, Narrator Milo was saying at the same time.

Sara and Richard Chase both interrupted at the same time.

“YOU KISSED HIM?”, shouted Richard, panicking.

“SHE KISSED YOU?”, enthused Sara, hearts in her eyes.

Suddenly, Story Melissa turned Story Milo to her and passionately kissed him.

Story Milo closed his eyes, and they began to make out, “Love So Lovely” from “Mickey, Donald and Goofy: The Three Musketeers” playing.

“I love you, Melissa!”, Story Milo announced dramatically.

“I love you too, Milo!”, Story Melissa announced as dramatically.

They joined hands.

“Let’s get married!”, they both said.

“No! No! No!”, Narrator Milo and Melissa said, pausing the story.

Story Milo and Story Melissa were frozen, the pause giving them seriously derpy faces.

“Hold on, that’s pretty silly…”, Narrator Melissa said, and she paused at a less derpy pose.

“Sara! Don’t interrupt!”, Narrator Milo chided. “This is hard enough as it is without you cutting in with… Whatever that was!”

Sara sheepishly apologized.

“Sorry, little brother.”

Richard was scolded too.

“As if I’d get married at such a young age!”, Narrator Melissa said.

Richard raised an eyebrow.

“You didn’t say anything about the kiss. Or the deceleration of love.”

Narrator Melissa stammered.

“Well… Those are less… Unacceptable to me.”

She couldn’t help but think: “Those would actually be... Really nice.”

She blushed again and continued her story.

“Anyway, all I did was come up behind him and cover his eyes.”

“Guess who?”, Story Melissa said as she covered Story Milo’s eyes.

“Um… Sabrina Carpenter?”, Story Milo joked.

“Yeah, she wishes I was her.”, Story Melissa joked.

Story Milo laughed and turned to see his best friend, smiling and cheerful as she observed him.

“Oh, it’s Melissa! That’s much better!”

Story Melissa smirked.

“Of course it’s better! Is there anything else that’s better?”, she asked, her eyes closed, pretending to be that egotistical.

“No.”, Story Milo answered immediately, with no hesitation at all.

“Ooh! Milo, you flirt!”, Sara said, giving him a soft noogie.

“Sara! I… I wasn’t flirting…”, Narrator Milo said, though the blush on his face indicated something else.

He may have… Flirted a tiny bit.

It clearly had an effect, as Story Melissa opened her eyes in surprise and blushed, smiling genuinely at her best friend.

“…Thanks, Milo. You too.”

Story Milo blushed.

“You know, that was really nice of him to say that. I really did misjudge him.” Richard noted.

He then smirked.

“Also, that’s a lot of blushing for two people who aren’t in love.”

Narrator Melissa panicked and stammered an odd excuse.

“We… We just get hot really easily!”

She blushed.

“Like now?”, he asked.

“Let’s just move on, ok?”, Narrator Melissa brushed the subject aside, clearly wanting to ignore the facts.

“Anyway, we began our walk to the cinema.”, Narrator Milo filled in.

Story Milo and Story Melissa began their journey to the cinema.

They sailed a canoe to traverse a sea of Ducky Momos and Mary McGuffins, they rode a business man Buffalo who, with his katanna, fought off countless sentient third quarter deadlines and they dodged one giant bowler hat after another as they rained down from the heavens.

“As I said, it was a quiet day.”, Narrator Milo and Narrator Melissa said.

Sara didn’t bat an eye lash, used to this insanity.

Richard blinked in confusion, but he let Narrator Melissa carry on.

Meanwhile, Story Milo and Story Melissa did all this in perfect synchronization, working together in total harmony. All the while, they chatted about nothing and everything, having a blast the entire time.

“Once we arrived at the cinema, it was just a case of showing our pre-ordered tickets.”, Narrator Melissa said.

Story Milo gave the usher the tickets while Story Melissa looked at a tree with stunning orange leaves.

“That could be a great picture”, Story Melissa thought, and she whipped out her phone to snap a pic.

“I was just about to take the picture when I accidentally stepped on a puddle, and slipped.”, Narrator Melissa said.

Story Melissa began to fall, and “Vesti la giubba” (the famous Pagliacci the sad clown song) played.

“NO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!”, Sara cried out. “Why do the good always die young?!!!”, she implored, and she hit her fist on the bed a few times.

She wiped a tear.

“I have some choice words for the author!”, she shouted, glaring at the screen.

“Hey, I didn’t kill Melissa off!”, The Milo Murphy’s Law Wiki Guy, cowering behind his chair, talked back to the screen.

Narrator Milo calmed Sara down.

“Sara, that’s not at all what happened! And thank goodness! I don’t know what I would do without her!”

Sara smiled.

“You are so cute!”, she said, cooing at her little brother.

“So, what happened?”, Richard asked, worried for his daughters safety. “You didn’t get hurt, right?”

Narrator Melissa smiled warmly.

“Of course not. After all, I had an angel with me.”

Story Melissa almost smashes onto the ground when Story Milo grabs her hand, making sure she doesn’t fall.

“It’s ok, Melissa.”, Story Milo reassured as he picked her up, still holding her hand.

“I’ve got you.”

“And then you declared your love?”, Sara and Richard asked.

Story Milo and Story Melissa suddenly turned black and white, cliché rain began to fall, and Story Milo, with an inexplicable French accent, dipped Story Melissa, now wearing an old fashioned rain coat.

“…I love you. When I’m with you, I’m what they call a… A hip Milo. I’m hip… To the jive.”

Story Milo playfully moved his fingers, as if they were walking, over Melissa’s hand and he booped her nose.

“Ah, I’m in the groove, darling!”

Story Melissa batted her snuffalopogus eyelashes and sighed dramatically.

“Now you’re really serenading me, Milo!”

Story Milo moved his face to her face, a fake moustache now under his nose.

“Ah, you’ve set my soul on fire. It is not, just a… Little spark. It is a flame. A big, roaring flame! Ah, I can feel it now. It is burning… Burning… Burning…”

They held each other, gazing into each other’s eyes.

“Take me, Milo!”, Story Melissa said.

“Here’s looking at you, kid.”, Story Milo said, and they closed their eyes and edged towards each other, about to kiss…

“Stop!”, Narrator Milo said.

“Seriously, every time?”, Narrator Melissa said.

Story Milo and Story Melissa reverted to where they were before the romantic scene and stared impatiently at the screen.

“We don’t have all day, you know.”, they said.

“Sorry.”, Richard and Sara apologized again.

“All I did was hold her hand for a second!”, Narrator Milo explained, exasperated with all the distractions.

“That’s all, Dad!”, Narrator Melissa said, she too annoyed.

“It was to stop her from getting hurt!”, Narrator Milo explained. “What kind of friend wouldn’t do that?”

Sara nodded her head in agreement.

“I have to admit, I hate it when people say that saving a friend is a shipping hint. That’s just basic human decency, for crying out loud!”

Sara chuckled.

“Though if you think that’s bad, did you know that sometimes wiki’s say that two characters looking at each other for a moment is a hint?”

Milo laughed.

“That is silly!”

Sara then ventured a question.

“I do have to ask, though: When you held her hand, did you feel anything?”

“What was it like?”, Richard asked.

Both Narrators blushed.

“Well… I’ll admit…”, Both narrators started.

“Well… It was only for a second…”, they continued.

“But… For that one second…”

“His/her touch felt so… Soft. So… Loving.”

They both looked down, soft smiles on their faces.

“I guess… I wish it was for more than a second. For a second I… I really felt just how much he/she loved me. And…”

Both their hearts soared.

Story Milo and Story Melissa smiled at each other, soft blushes on their cheeks.

“I felt how much I love him/her.”, the narrators confessed.

“Love?”, the two listeners asked, intrigued.

The two narrators quickly denied.

“Not like that! Platonic friends say that all the time!”

“Yeah…”, Richard and Sara said. 

“Moving on…”

Narrator Melissa shifted in her chair to get more comfortable.

“We went in, and sat on our seats. And then…”, she suddenly began to smile, deciding to mess with her dad.

“He gave me a kiss.”

Story Milo smooched Story Melissa, who smooched him back.

A heart iris began to form around them as the crowd applauded.

Richard spat out the cup of coffee he had.

“Wait, when did he have one?”, Narrator Melissa thought as she ducked the incoming projectile.

“YOU WHAT?! (Unintentional Tom The Fish From The April Fools Episode of SpongeBob reference) You said you didn’t!”, he cried in shock.

Narrator Melissa giggled.

“You are so pathetic, Dad!”, Narrator Melissa laughed, rolling in her seat.

“I gave her a Hershie’s kiss. She really likes those.”, Narrator Milo said to Sara, explaining what really happened.

“Oh! How sweet! Pun not intended, surprisingly!”, Sara commented.

Story Milo stopped kissing Story Melissa and gave her a Hershie’s kiss. Story Melissa thanked him, and, with a smile, split it in half, sharing it with the jinxed boy.

Richard took deep breaths to calm down.

Narrator Melissa rolled her eyes.

“You are such a drama queen, Dad! And if we did kiss? So what?”, she said, before once again reminding him (but mostly herself) that she didn’t want to.

“Though it would have been nice. I’m sure his kisses are really great, the kind that make you feel all the love he has for you.”, she thought, smiling to herself.

“Ok, then what?”, Sara asked, waiting with bated breath for the next detail.

“Well, the movie ended, and we had a great time, whispering little jokes to each other and enjoying the awesomeness, and when we began to leave, I was attacked by these giant vultures with monocles.”, Narrator Milo explained.

Story Milo tried to block the bird’s pecks.

“So I fended them off.”, Narrator Melissa explained, Story Melissa scaring the birds off with a megaphone.

Story Milo got up and brushed his pants off from the dust.

Narrator Melissa smiled again, gearing up another joke.

“And then he said he loved…”

“And then I told her that I love…”, Narrator Milo began.

Again, Sara and Richard interrupted.

“HE SAID HE LOVES YOU?!”

“YOU SAID THAT YOU LOVE HER?!”

Story Milo and Story Melissa began to dance passionately.

“I LOVE YOU MORE THAN ANYTHING IN THE WORLD!”, Story Milo shouted.

“AND I LOVE YOU MORE THAN ANYTHING IN THE WORLD!”, Story Melissa shouted.

They both kneeled down.

“LET’S GET MARRIED, BABY!”, they shouted at each other.

“You didn’t let me finish!”, Narrator Milo said, tired of the interruptions that all sounded magical, despite his attempts to ignore his pounding heart.

“I’m messing with you again, Dad!”, Narrator Melissa giggled. “He said that he loves our friendship!”

Though she couldn’t help but notice her racing heart yet again.

“Oh.”, Sara answered. “Still, really cute!”

Narrator Milo blushed.

“And then what?”, the two audience members asked.

“Well, that’s about it. We had an awkward moment before we parted, and I wanted to kiss him, and that’s it.”, Narrator Melissa said, not even backtracking this time, so confused she was about her love for Narrator Milo.

“Well, that’s about it. We had an awkward moment before we parted, and I thought she was really pretty in the moonlight, and that’s it.”, Narrator Milo said, in the same mental wavelength as his friend.

The story ended, and the two friends sighed at the same time, wishing they could make up their minds.

The argument that raged inside them, the indecision towards the feelings they felt was incredibly tiring, and the two didn’t know what to do.

Milo rested his head on Sara’s lap.

Sara lovingly caressed his hair.

“So? What do you think?”, Milo asked, waiting for his sister’s take on the whole scenario.

Sara smiled at her brother.

“Milo… As much as I’d like to help you with this… I’m not the one who can tell you how you feel. Sure, I can joke around a bit, and try to help you see inside yourself, but in the end, the person who chooses how you feel… Is you, Milo.”

Milo sat up, unsure, nervous, even a little scared.

“But I don’t know! Can’t you do it?”

Sara smiled softly.

“Milo… This is up to you.”, she said, quietly, trying to help her brother understand.

Milo waved his arms in protest.

“But I don’t know, Sara! I don’t know! I feel so confused when I’m next to her! When we were young it was so much easier! I just knew we were friends! But recently I feel like there’s something more. There’s something about Melissa that makes me feel so weird in the best way. So happy in the oddest way. I feel like… Like…”

He wasn’t sure what to say.

Sara put her hand below his chin and lifted it up a bit.

“You can tell me, Milo. You can tell me the truth. What you really feel… Is nothing to be ashamed of. I promise you… It will be ok.”

She hugged him tightly, her love enveloping and protecting him.

“Be you.”

Milo shed a single tear as he hugged Sara back as hard as possible.

He looked deep inside himself.

He looked into his soul.

He found his core.

His truest, most earnest, most real feelings.

He would no longer ignore it.

No longer would he deny.

He would be honest.

He would tell the truth.

His heart beat slowed down suddenly, as if to signal he was at peace.

He breathed through his nose.

He closed his eyes.

He wouldn’t leave anything out.

He saw the truth that was in his heart.

And he let it out.

“I… I feel something. Not something little, and not something big, but something. I feel it here, in my heart. I felt it when we almost kissed in the summer of last year, after she told me she was never tired of me. I felt it the time she caressed my face while applying face paint. The time we had our pinkies interlock. The time our noses were touching. The time she said I was perfect. The time I said she was perfect. The time we sat really close to each other and our hands touched. I felt it when she took care of me when I was sick a short time ago. I felt it the time she snuggled up to me. Every single moment I see her my heart beats loudly and I think she's beautiful. I feel it when the wind blows through her hair, when her wonderful eyes gaze into mine, when she makes a joke, when she gets excited over a science project, when she hugs me, when she tells me how much I mean to her. I feel it when I tell her how much she means to me. I feel it when I look at that picture. She makes my heart race, my mind melt and my soul sing. She is… Everything to me. I want to hold her hand and somehow make her feel my love. I want to dance with her, and just disappear without a trace. Just to dance with her and be alone, the two of us in perfect harmony. I want to feel her warm embrace and I want to make her see that she is the greatest person to ever exist. I… I want to kiss her and through that, make her feel all my love. Because… Because in the end… I do feel something. Maybe it isn’t meant to be, but in every meaning of the word… I love her. I love Melissa. With all my heart…”

He smiled.

“Forever.”

Milo finished and looked up at Sara, whose face was streaming down with tears.

“My little brother’s all grown up… Oh, Milo. Whoever gets you will be the luckiest girl in the world.”

The siblings hugged.

Milo was still a little unsure.

“What if… I don’t know if I should say. I don’t want to ruin our friendship on something as stupid as dating.”

Sara smiled reassuringly and patted his back.

“You don’t have to tell her. If you decide to keep this to yourself, then do that. And if you decide to tell her, then do that. It’s ok.”

She then looked him in the eyes.

“Besides… You two promised to be together forever, right?”

Milo nodded, almost like a little child in his sister’s arms.

“Then that means that you’ll never let anything like that come between you. I know Melissa. She’ll fight the unstoppable, she’ll do the impossible to make you happy. And you would do that for her. So, really Milo: What could possibly go wrong?”

Milo couldn’t help but smile at the irony of the statement, but he took it to heart.

“…Ok. I’m not telling her… Not yet. I will someday. And… I am not going to worry about this. Not anymore. Like you said,”, he smiled, the eternal optimist back to his usual self, “What could possibly go wrong?”

Sara ruffled his hair.

“That’s my little brother!”

They hugged one last time, and Sara departed to her DnD game, the players surprisingly patient for her arrival, especially after she explained the situation.

Meanwhile, Melissa and Richard Chase were going through something similar.

“So… Do you like him or not?”, Richard asked, he himself confused from the emotional roller coaster he had experienced.

Melissa was still debating herself. She had hoped to analyze and figure out her emotions, but now she was even more confused.

She clearly felt something…

But should she?

Ugh! It was so frustrating!

Melissa’s head laid on the table, her whole spirit screaming of annoyance.

“I don’t know, Dad! I don’t know…”, she exhaled, her tone that of a girl lost.

A girl who didn’t know what to do.

What to feel.

Richard, feeling bad for his daughter, came to comfort her.

He stroked her hair, and tried to calm her tense nerves.

“Honey, it’s ok. We all get confused about our feelings. Geez, if you only knew about my feelings!”, he joked, trying to lighten the mood, but Melissa was not in the mood for humor.

She turned around.

“Leave me alone. I need some sleep.”

Richard couldn’t help but feel bad for his pride and joy.

He sighed.

“I hate seeing you like this, honey. I really do.”

He started to get up.

“I guess this does prove my point, unfortunately. You really aren’t ready to date…”, Richard started, unaware of the bad timing of his sentence.

Melissa stood up, a mad look in her eyes.

“Oh my god! Will you stop with that?! It’s not about that, ok?!”

She got up close to him.

“Fine! You really wanna know how I feel? Maybe you can help me! ‘Cause I don’t!”

Richard looked alarmed, surprised at his daughters behavior.

Melissa meanwhile walked around the room in circles, getting more and more emotional.

“Milo and I? We’re more than inseparable. I honestly can’t imagine a life without him! Because he is that great, ok? He’s funny, no, scratch that, he is hilarious! He comes up with the most innocent, funniest gems! No one makes me laugh like that! He’s innocent, to a fault! He has such trust in the world! Such trust in people! I want to protect him, but I hope he never stops feeling like that, because we need more people like Milo! People who care! People who help! People who love like him! He’s incredible! He’s saved my life countless times! He’s saved others countless times, despite the guilt he gets from Murphy’s Law! He’s been there for me when I was sad! When I hated all you did! When I felt alone without Mom! He was there for me when no one else was, because he loved me for me! And you know what? I love him for him. I said it was nothing, but that’s not true, Dad. I do feel something. Not something big, but definitely not something small. I feel… Everything. I feel so happy, so safe, so joyful with him! He is kind, smart, loving, funny, caring, beautiful! When I see him, my heart pounds like a jackhammer and my mind races and my soul sings! Because there is no one, and I mean no one I love more! I wish I could hold his hand and make him feel my love! I wish I could dance with him on a cloud, and feel like I’m in heaven! But I already do! Because every day with this angel is heaven! I wish I could hug him and keep him safe! I wish I could kiss him and make him feel all my love! All my soul! Because in the end… In the end…”

Melissa took a moment to breath.

She looked into her heart.

Was this all true?

She closed her eyes.

She imagined Milo.

And she knew.

It was true.

Every single word.

“I… I love him. I love Milo. With all my heart…”

She smiled.

“Forever.”

She then slumped down on her seat.

“But no matter how I feel… I won’t ruin our friendship. I won’t. Milo needs me. I can’t ruin that. No matter how much I want it. I won’t ruin our friendship.”

Melissa began to shed some tears. Her heart beat fast, her confession having taken a toll on her.

Richard, himself crying from what he heard, approached her and nestled her head in his arms.

“Oh, kiddo. I was so afraid of you growing up…”

He lifted her head, a proud look in his eyes.

“I failed to see that you already did.”

He kissed her forehead.

“Melissa… You don’t have to tell him. If you don’t want to. And if you do want to… Then do.”

He smiled.

“And I want to tell you one thing.”

Melissa, still emotional, lifted her head.

“Yes?...”, she asked, her voice almost a whisper.

“With a friendship like yours… You shouldn’t worry. You told me you’ll be together forever. I don’t doubt that. Dating won’t ruin that. You two will always be together. And that’s a fact.”

Melissa, so happy to hear her father say that, squeezed her father with a big hug, who returned the favor.

“I love you, Dad.”, Melissa said.

Richard chuckled warmly.

“I love you too, Melissa.”

Melissa got up.

“I’m not telling him… Not yet. But I’m not worried. I promise.”

She kissed him good night, her spaghetti still uneaten, but Richard understood why.

Milo, meanwhile, had also skipped dinner.

The two, at the same time, brushed their teeth and put on their pyjamas.

As the got into bed, the two teens, their hearts now at peace, took their respective pictures of each other and gazed at them in bed.

Melissa got a funny thought.

So did Milo.

Melissa edged the picture of the boy she loved so much to her face.

Milo edged the picture of the girl he loved so much to his face.

And at the same time…

They kissed the pictures.

“Good night, Milo.”, Melissa said with a smile.

“Good night, Melissa.”, Milo said with a smile.

They shut the lights, got into bed and closed their eyes, their sleep filled with dreams of happiness.

A happiness together.

The next day, after a busy day at school, Milo and Melissa took a walk in the park.

They were both a little shy, but they were still chatting like normal, having fun and enjoying life to the fullest.

Melissa hoped she could tell him. She really wanted to make him feel what he deserved to feel.

Milo wanted the same.

They were playing a personality quiz on Melissa’s phone when an interesting question came up.

“H’mm… Name your favorite person.”, Milo read out loud.

The two automatically said the same thing.

“You.”

They both had fiery blushes.

Suddenly, Melissa slipped and almost fell, and Milo, just like yesterday, immediately grabbed her hand.

Time stopped.

His hand…

It felt even better now.

So soft…

So touching…

So…

Loving.

Milo knew it was his chance.

So he closed his eyes, and sent her love.

All of it.

All the years of support…

All the admiration…

All the fun days, the ice cream dates, the adventures, the sick days and the days of being there for each other.

All his love…

Communicated through the simplest touch.

Melissa felt it all.

Her heart soared.

She nearly teared up.

She felt more love than in all her life.

She smiled at him.

“Thanks for catching me.”

Milo smiled.

“Of course.”

He then rubbed the back of his neck.

“Should I… Should I let go now?”

Melissa giggled at his shyness.

She blushed, and smiled warmly.

And she held his hand back, sending him all her love.

All the laughs...

All the care…

All the good times…

All the sad times…

All the times he had saved her…

All her love for him…

Communicated through the simplest touch.

Their hands almost became one, their touch lighting a fire of love and care in each other.

They both smiled.

Their noses and foreheads met.

“Actually… I quite like this.”, she said.

He smiled.

“Me too.”

She whispered.

“You… You want to do this regularly?”

“…Yes.”

They hugged.

“Then let’s do that.”

They tightened their grip.

They leaned on each other.

“Together forever?”, he whispered.

“Together forever.”, she reaffirmed.

And they walked off into the sunset, their love stronger than anything.

They would be together.

Forever.

Post Credit Scene:

As they walked off, Milo and Melissa didn’t notice the falling tree.

Or the Mysterious 13 Year Old Girl behind the fallen tree.

“Wow… It’s so… Beautiful…”, she said, her eyes nearly tearing up.

“What a beautiful moment!”

She smiled, her day made by seeing this.

“Well, better get back to my time.”, she said, and with a flash, she went into a corner and disappeard.

Suddenly, a time vehicle drove in and Cavendish and Dakota (looking much older) got out.

“She’s got to be here somewhere!”, Cavendish said, using a cane to walk around and surveying the area with his spectacles, his vision also not what it used to be.

Dakota, now filled with grey hairs, but still as hopeful as ever, returned to the car.

“I think she might have gone back.”

Cavendish entered the car too.

“All right, let’s follow her.”

The two men held hands, smiled, and drove off into the time vortex.


End file.
